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Applying to Reserve unit in another province

Mike5

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Good morning,

There seem to be few allocations for officer cadet roles for new recruits this year for the Naval Reserve in the GTA.  Does anybody know if the allocation is likely to be better in Ottawa or at a reserve unit close to a major base (such as HMCS Malahat or HMCS Scotia)?  From my limited perspective (i.e. the unit's official web pages), HMCS Malahat seems to be larger / more active in general?

Thanks,
 
I can't comment on the specific naval units, but it's impossible to judge a units activity or size
compared with activity on their webpage.
Most units don't have one, and most official ones are useless.

 
Mike5 said:
Good morning,

There seem to be few allocations for officer cadet roles for new recruits this year for the Naval Reserve in the GTA.  Does anybody know if the allocation is likely to be better in Ottawa or at a reserve unit close to a major base (such as HMCS Malahat or HMCS Scotia)?  From my limited perspective (i.e. the unit's official web pages), HMCS Malahat seems to be larger / more active in general?

Thanks,

Are you suggesting that you'd relocate for the purpose of joining a Reserve unit?  That doesn't seem to make very much sense.

I'll have to second old medic's post - unit websites, particularly official ones, are a pretty poor gauge of actual unit activity.  They are rarely updated.  Unofficial pages might be better, but few units have them.
 
You will find that recruiting across the formation for almost all trades is quite limited this year. As mentioned, moving somewhere to join the reserves doesn't make a lot of sense. If you're that keen to join, you should get in the Reg force.
 
Mike5 said:
There seem to be few allocations for officer cadet roles for new recruits this year for the Naval Reserve in the GTA.  Does anybody know if the allocation is likely to be better in Ottawa or at a reserve unit close to a major base (such as HMCS Malahat or HMCS Scotia)?  From my limited perspective (i.e. the unit's official web pages), HMCS Malahat seems to be larger / more active in general?
Unlike the militia, the allocation of positions per trade in the Naval Reserve is national rather than unit-by-unit. That being said, individual units are allocated recruiting quotas each year, though positions can be shopped from one unit to another if there's a shortage of recruit candidates in one spot and a surplus in another. This year, the number of officer recruits NAVRES will be accepting is limited by the ability of the training establishment "pipeline" to train them down the road. It seems that the few positions available are being prioritized for smaller units with officer shortages, rather than the larger units that can get by without recruiting officers for a year. So you would stand a better chance of getting enrolled in, say, GRIFFON (Thunder Bay) or D'IBERVILLE (Rimouski) than you would at MALAHAT or SCOTIAN. However, the purpose of this policy is to develop the class "A" leadership cadre of these units, so they're unlikely to consider an applicant from out-of-area.
 
Mike5 said:
Good morning,

There seem to be few allocations for officer cadet roles for new recruits this year for the Naval Reserve in the GTA.  Does anybody know if the allocation is likely to be better in Ottawa or at a reserve unit close to a major base (such as HMCS Malahat or HMCS Scotia)?  From my limited perspective (i.e. the unit's official web pages), HMCS Malahat seems to be larger / more active in general?

Thanks,

Try calling them. That's the best way to get an answer and straight from their recruiting Officer too.
 
Thanks all for the good advice and sharing the benefit of your experience.  I've spoken to recruiting officers at several Naval Reserve units in Ontario.  They're all extremely professional -- unfortunately quotas are limited so there is not much they can do.

I was not aware of the policy to develop the class "A" leadership cadre of the units --makes sense.  I have personal connections to both Vancouver and Halifax so both were appealing.

Cheers,
 
If you are willing to relocate to Scotian or Malahat, why don't you apply for reg force? Those would be the two postings.

 
Apologies for bumping an old thread but I realized I did not answer your question -- why not just go reg force?  Unfortunately, I am established in my career.  For a number of reasons (mostly financial) it's not easy to go reg force.  I think this is one of the things about the Reserve that makes a lot of sense -- you can contribute in a meaningful way without giving up a private-sector career.

Cheers,

:piper:
 
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